Flushable feminine care products provide consumers with discretion and convenience benefits. However, current plastic tampon applicators are made of injection molded materials such as polyolefins (e.g., polypropylenes or polyethylenes) and polyesters that are not biodegradable or renewable, as the use of biodegradable polymers in an injection molded part is problematic due to the difficulty involved with thermally processing such polymers and high cost. As such, consumers must dispose of tampon applicators in a separate waste receptacle, which results in a challenge for consumers to dispose of the applicators in a discrete and convenient manner. Furthermore, the soiled or used tampon applicator may also pose a biohazard or potential health hazard. As a result, although current plastic tampon applicators are not supposed to be flushed, some consumers may nevertheless attempt to flush the applicators in the toilet, which can lead to clogging of sewer pipes and municipal waste water treatment facilities. Attempts have been made to mold cold water-dispersible materials such as polyvinyl alcohol in order to alleviate these problems, but such attempts have not been successful. Instead, when using polyvinyl alcohol in tampon applicators, the materials must be solution processed so that they can be formed into a tampon applicator that has a thick enough wall, and such solution processing is a slow, costly, environmentally unsustainable process that necessitates high energy requirements. Further, although cardboard applicators have been developed, the cardboard must often be coated to decrease the coefficient of friction of the applicator to a comfortable level for consumers, and the coatings used are not environmentally friendly and add to the costs associated with forming the applicator.
As such, a need currently exists for a thermoplastic, water-dispersible composition that can be injection molded, where such composition can be successfully formed into a tampon applicator. A need also exists for a water-dispersible applicator that is comfortable to insert and that does not begin to break down upon insertion.